Mourning continues for 'Man Man,' a young hero killed in fire

AS CANDLES, sympathy cards and stuffed animals stacked up on the charred Norristown porch Sunday, tears flowed and stories were told about the 12-year-old boy who died Friday trying to rescue his bedridden father from a raging fire that gutted the family's home.

In addition to being moved by the death of Sanford "Man Man" Harling III, some folks said they stopped to pay their respects because the Harlings' home on Markley Street was the "Christmas house" in the neighborhood - all decked out with lights, the side yard festooned with an inflatable Santa, Frosty the Snowman, and reindeer.

That yard is now buried under four feet of rubble, and every window in the three-story twin is boarded up. Man Man's father, Sanford Harling Jr., who was recovering from hip-replacement surgery, managed to jump from a window and remained hospitalized Sunday.

"Oh, my God, if there was a competition for who had the best house at Christmas, they would win," Tamia Sample, 19, who has known the family for three years, said as she stood across the street.

She cried when she saw what remained of the once-festive house, she said.

"When I saw the house I had no words, no words," said Sample, who recalled that she had given Man Man a hug just a week before his death when he stopped by the Chick-fil-A restaurant where she works.

"He was a good kid," she said. "I don't want to call him a hero, because heroes don't have flaws. Everybody has flaws, and he did, too. But he was a good kid who stayed out of trouble and he just loved his family."

Michaelene Walski, 38, who stopped to place a bouquet of flowers on the porch, said she didn't know the family but always enjoyed driving by at Christmastime.

"The side yard was decorated with blow-up figures, lights on the porch," she said. "You'd see them having parties out in the yard during the summer. They seemed like a really nice family, just from seeing them out in the yard driving past."

Armani Mooney, 12, who had attended elementary school with Man Man, stopped at the house shortly after 1 p.m. with his mother, Yvonne Mooney, and two family friends.

They left a small football, a stuffed dog, and a lit candle. Recalling that Man Man liked playing football and basketball and that they last had spoken just two days before the fire, Armani covered his face with the crook of his arm and began to cry.

"I knew him since kindergarten," Armani said after composing himself. "He was a good kid."

Motorists slowed down to look at the scene where Man Man died.

"It's upsetting, the little boy is the same age as my son," said Yvonne Mooney, who began to weep. "He died a hero. He went in to save his dad."

Soon after the Mooneys had departed, Kim Whaley, pain etched on her face, walked up and placed a sympathy card on the porch.

"I don't know these folks, but I'm a Christian and I'm sad, because of my boy. My kid could have been home sick and the same thing could have happened to him," she said of her son, Michael, 11.

"They loved the same things. I watched the news. He's just like my son," Whaley said, fighting back tears. "I'm a total stranger, but I had to come."

At the Norristown Food Mart across the street, a donation jar set up Friday night for the family had generated $120 by noon Sunday, when it was turned over to Sanford's mother.

Soon it was filling up again with bills and coins.

"This for Man Man?" customer Nsilo Lane asked, pointing to the jar. "Is he for sure going to get it?"

When store manager Akim Mazumder assured him that the money would go to the boy's family, Lane, who is unemployed, dropped a few dollars in the jar.

"That's sad, man. I feel bad," said Lane, who did not know the family but reminisced about their famous Christmas lights.

The Red Cross is accepting donations for the family, which includes five surviving siblings.

Mazumder said he had known Man Man since the boy was about 2.

"On Thursday night, he, his mom, and his sister were in the store," Mazumder said. "He and his sister were playing with each other for 20 minutes."

Mazumder sighed. "I'm really upset."

deanm@phillynews.com

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